Depth report

　　

In 2022, China's top three trading partners were ASEAN, the European Union and the United States. China and ASEAN have been each other's largest trading partner for three consecutive years.

In 2022, China maintained its position as the third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN.

In terms of the 10 ASEAN countries, in 2022, China was the largest trading partner of Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar, the second largest trading partner of Laos and the top three trading partners of Brunei.

In 2022, China was the largest source of investment for Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Brunei, the second largest for Myanmar and Indonesia, the third largest source of agreed foreign investment for the Philippines and the sixth largest source of investment for Vietnam.

Recently, Xu Ningning, Chairman of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee and Executive Chairman of the China-Asean Business Council, made the following brief analysis on enhancing China-Asean economic and trade cooperation:

1. Driven by positive cooperation such as the development of China-Asean comprehensive strategic partnership, ASEAN community building and the Belt and Road Initiative, China and ASEAN will be more economically integrated and their interests more relevant, so as to achieve common development through interconnected growth.

2. Connectivity between the two sides is getting closer. Cooperation in infrastructure, transportation, customs clearance and other fields is providing more and more favorable conditions for regional economic integration.

3. The importance of industrial cooperation is becoming increasingly prominent. Strengthening industrial planning communication, industrial policy coordination and industrial park construction are becoming effective measures for both sides to achieve industrial upgrading. The industrial associations of the two sides will become increasingly active and play an increasingly active role in industrial cooperation.

4. The scale of bilateral trade will be larger, the supply chain will be closer, and the trade structure needs to be further optimized. The continuous opening of the service trade market and e-commerce cooperation between the two sides will unleash a large number of new business opportunities.

5. Two-way investment will grow faster, investment markets will be further opened up, investment cooperation is gaining momentum, and improving the investment environment is becoming increasingly important. Digital economy, green economy and sustainable development are becoming hot spots for investment.

6. Cooperation in various fields will be carried out in a more comprehensive and in-depth way. Cooperation in customs, commodity inspection, finance, science and technology, standards and intellectual property rights will become increasingly close. Financial cooperation is playing an increasingly important role as a stabilizer and catalyst for our economic growth and cooperation.

7. Cooperation among Lancang-Mekong River countries is playing an increasingly positive role in promoting sub-regional economic development, ASEAN community building and upgrading the overall level of regional cooperation.

8. The upgrading of the China-Asean Free Trade Area and the building of the RCEP are demonstrating the role of regional economic integration in meeting challenges and promoting development. The benefits of market opening to small and medium-sized enterprises attracted more attention.

9. People-to-people exchanges and cooperation will play an increasingly important role in promoting our common economic growth. Cooperation in tourism, culture, youth, education and media will be enriched and deepened.

10. Political mutual trust will become more important as a precondition for achieving common economic growth. The greater the political mutual trust between the two sides, the more development fruits economic cooperation will bring.